LIVE FROM LONDON PREVIEW – By Allison Haines

Allison Haines here. I haven’t written an editorial since journalism school, since my focus is primarily on video journalism, but with the fallout (see what I did there?) from the second EWA event in Mexico City, I assumed this was the best time to do so. I’m going to give my thoughts below on two of the biggest stories coming out of Mexico, and look ahead to April 11 as the EWA crosses the pond for the first time, presenting Live From London to the Combat TV viewers across the world. We’ve gone global, and it’s crazy to think how far we’ve come in such a short period of time. Love him or hate him, you have to credit the leadership of EWA owner Alexander Haven, as well as Chief Operating Officer Alyssa Marie Haven. Their vision for EWA Entertainment has catapulted this company into a worldwide phenomenon.

But Alex and Alyssa may not be in the best of moods after what happened down in Mexico City, as none other than Chris Kage made his shocking EWA return, costing Alex his chance at the EWA World Heavyweight Championship. While I’ve been unable thus far to reach Chris or his girlfriend, former EWA Executive Assistant Stacy Vandervort, I have it on good authority that Kage’s contract was never terminated. I’m going to continue to attempt to reach Chris, but you have to assume that he’ll be in the house for Battlelines 28, live from Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center.

Speaking of yum, how about that Josh Kaine fellow? So dreamy.

But I digress. That’s not very professional of me. Moving on…

The other major story out of the Asylum was the legendary Grady Smith emerging victorious, and laying claim to his incredible record 11th World Heavyweight Championship victory. Grady, at 43 years old, was not considered one of the favorites to win the Asylum match, having only been on the active EWA roster for the past year – and not having wrestled for about 13 years prior to that. Nonetheless, after an epic encounter with Ray Willmott at the end, Grady was able to hit the Chokebuster and score the victory. And now the question is…will he be able to do that once again at Live From London?

That’s right, folks. In an exclusive scoop, I’ve discovered that the main event for Live From London is none other than, for the EWA World Heavyweight Championship –

‘RED HOT’ RAY WILLMOTT vs GRADY SMITH

– in what’s sure to be a showstealer of a match. You have to wonder if Ray, wrestling for the biggest prize of all in front of his hometown crowd, will be able to pull off the upset – and how having a crowd that may very well be against him could affect Grady inside the ring. How will Laura Seton potentially factor into things? Standing there during their confrontation in Mexico was extremely awkward, that’s for sure.

Many of us here at the EWA were surprised by this announcement. I, for one, expected Alexander Haven to name himself as the #1 contender to the title, after what happened with Chris Kage, and my belief was further reinforced by what I witnessed after Battlelines – Alyssa Marie Haven, behind closed doors, throwing the mother of all temper tantrums. I heard screaming, things breaking, and all sorts of things coming from within Haven’s office. Needless to say, she wasn’t too thrilled about Kage costing her husband the championship – which is all the more reason why I was surprised to find out the next match signed for Live From London:

ALEXANDER HAVEN vs INDRID CALDER

Indrid Calder made it clear in the leadup to Asylum that his #1 target was Haven, blaming him for Michael Draven’s disgusting assault on Maggie McIntyre, and Calder certainly went after Haven with full force inside the steel structure. The two men provided one of the most jaw-dropping sequences I’ve ever seen as a professional wrestling fan, with Haven somehow countering Calder’s For The Horseman curb stomp into the Fall From Glory. These two are sure to tear the house down in London, with Haven apparently all too willing to indulge Calder in his quest for vengeance.

Another match that we’ve heard rumored for awhile, but has now been officially confirmed:

NOTHING vs JACOB MEPHISTO, in a DOG COLLAR MATCH

These two men have had a heated, vicious rivalry for months, in what many believe has cost Prudence Collins some of his sanity. I’ve never personally seen a dog collar match, but when you have two men that hate each other as much as these two do, add in the Network Championship (providing Jacob Mephisto can get past Elizabeth Gaunt at Battlelines 28), and chain the two together? That’s a recipe for violence.

SAHARA vs NATALIE BURROWS

This one has been boiling for awhile now – Sahara initially offered Natalie Burrows a spot in the Fallout, which the Southern Belle declined, and Sahara has been after her ever since. With the shocking ousting of Duane Gates by The Fallout, Sahara seems to have been accepted back into the “God Queen’s” good graces (oops, I did it again!)…which spells certain trouble for Ms. Burrows.

ELIZABETH GAUNT vs DAN STEIN

Dan Stein has been virtually silent since Elizabeth Gaunt revealed herself as the person who attacked Stein’s wife, Molly. With this match now official, you have to ask the question – is Stein ready to exact revenge on Gaunt?

OPEN CHALLENGE, EWA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Kharrion issued an open challenge to defend their titles at Live From London. The EWA tag team scene has been viewed as light in the past, but this announcement created quite the stir. I’m hearing rumblings of current tag teams, past tag teams, and even wrestlers who aren’t part of tag teams scrambling at the opportunity to answer the call. I, for one, cannot wait to see who takes the bait.

TANYA BLACK vs HANK

This match hasn’t yet been confirmed, but after Tanya Black returned at Asylum (strangely engaging in some sort of Lady Marmalade-esque dance number with our lovely ring announcer, Nikki Rogers) and challenged Hank to a rematch, it’s hard to imagine the sadist declining. For Tanya’s sake, I hope it goes better for her than their encounter at Champions Summit II did.

MICHAEL DRAVEN vs MAGGIE MCINTYRE

My final scoop today. This match is now confirmed. Both of these two are wrong and right in their actions over the past few months, but Michael Draven’s belt attack made me.uncomfortable as a professional, as a viewer, and as a woman. There’s a tremendous amount of animosity between these two, but I can’t help but long for the days of these two being the most beloved couple in the industry. It saddens me to see where this has ended up, and this is not going to be a pleasant one to watch. I just hope HATE and the rest of 3K can restrain themselves from getting involved.

Live From London is already shaping up to be a great show, and we’re still four weeks away, with more matches certain to be added. Stay tuned as I promise to bring you more information as I uncover it.